'08 BMW 3 Series - Steering lock Problem While, my bimmer has so far been issue free over last 5 years, since yesterday, it is showing a "Steering Lock Fault" symbol on the indicator. Upon searching on web, i see that it is quite a usual and frustrating problem for many owners globally but generally with the models dating 2005 and earlier. Most people who did get the issue, when approached the dealership, were asked to replace the Steering column, costing ~$1000. however there have been many DIY stuff and aftermarket technicians who have figured out how to fix the issue by reprogramming the software or sometimes by some clever hacks. There are instances on people who claim that they have been running with the fix for over a year without any issue.
important to note that, There are two variants of issue in this class.
1. When this symbol appears and the car gets into a lock down state, ie it has to be towed.
2. the symbol shows up but car funcitons normally and able to drive around.
Not sure if it is good or bad, but mine falls into the second category
I also called up the BMW y'day and upon asking them they said it would generally result in changing the column and would cost between Rs. 50K-70K. However reprogramming may also work but they cant say.
so now i am confused what to do. Wanted to see if there are other owners in the forum who had similar issue and what did they do. Basically what are my options. 50K seems to be way to high a price for somehting that you generally never consider as a part of your wear and tear organs. Besides, consdering that my car has only done about 21K so far and never ever had any bad incidents with it.
Comments, Advice, suggestions and questions most welcome. |